Sabaism
by ColorTheSmallOne
Summary: Arcadia Vance is 15-year-old girl who's one priority is to look after her 6-year-old brother, Rocket. Easier said than done as seeing they're in the middle of an apocalypse but one fateful day they meet a few strangers that offer them a chance. Follow this sibling duo as they join the prison and understand what is truly means to have family and that there is still a chance for love
1. Prologue

"I spy with my little eye something that is green!"

"A tree"

"Okay, I spy with my little eye something that's brown!"

"Tree"

"Hmmm, I spy with m-"

"It's probably a tree." A small gasp sounded from the little boy sitting on my shoulders.

"Are you a mind reader?" The excitement was very clear in his voice. I sigh.

"No Rocket, we're in the woods. There's nothing but trees to spy with your eyes." I explain.

"Oh!" Came his reply.

Silence follows afterwards, the only sound being the crunching of my footsteps and the rustling of the map. It's at least mid-afternoon judging from the blaring sun and the unfamiliar Georgian heat. Being here for only two months the weather was still something that I'm finding hard to adjust too, among other things.

This has been our lives for the past seven months. Moving from town to town trying to find shelter or scavenge for food. Attempting to avoid dangerous people. It's an endless cycle. The feeling of exhaustion and terror has become something that is as common as breathing for me. It's always present and looming.

I should probably introduce myself, my name is Arcadia Vance and the little boy on my shoulders who is currently humming to himself is my little brother, Rocket Vance. We've been on our own ever since the camp we were at got attacked.

That's the other thing whether you're aware or not there's a virus that causes people to burn out from its symptoms and come back as the undead. The only thing on their dead agenda seems to be eating anyone who is still alive. And with this hellish nightmare entering into its second year, there isn't that many living humans roaming about. Those who are left are...survivors. That should mean something good but over the years that word has become haunted. Because the ones who were alive have to remember what they've done to stay that way and not all of it is pretty. I'm no exception. The guilt starts to brew in my stomach as the dark memories try push their way into my head.

The familiar sting of the deep cut on my left forearm brings me back, reminding me it's still there. Three days ago I had been clearing out a department store while Rocket was at our former camp (a single storied house), the store was huge. My only task was to look for food and get out. But unfortunately I had a run in with another survivor. I hadn't even seen the man but he had seen me. He was more frightened of me then I was of him, out of fear his knife came out and sliced my arm. The man ran off right after that.

I had wrapped the cut as well as I could, but without any disinfectants the risk of it getting an infection was high. Over the few days the thing has become angry looking with red streaks of veins coming out of it. My arm would occasionally throb but today its worse and since I woke up I can feel my skin become warmer than it should be.

The dizzy feeling comes back bringing along the ache of my arm. I take a deep breath and then release it, trying to focus on other things like the map right in front of me. We've been walking for at least four hours, since first light. Rocket only lasted for about three of them before he practically climbed my leg. We left behind our crappy makeshift camp in some small abandoned coffee shop. The shop had been wiped clean so I gave the last can of beans to Rocket, telling him that I'd find something to eat later. I didn't. Mixing starvation with an infected cut isn't great but I have been through worse. And there's no way in hell I'm letting a little infection slow me down.

Finally I force my vision to focus on the map that I had picked up in some tourist shop when we first arrived. My eyes scan over it attempting to spot something that could be helpful, I see a department store only about two miles away. The place could have food and hopefully a still intact pharmacy.

"Hey bud, do you want to man the map?" Rocket replies with an excited yes, I lift the map above my head and he grabs it resting it on my cranium. I've been trying to teach him how to read a map. He's gotten better over the few weeks. Except for the time a week ago when he had gotten us hopelessly lost but it worked out because we had stumbled upon an old restaurant that still had some food in it. (four cans of beans and some very stale gram crackers to be exact)

I keep walking, Rocket giving me occasion directions. The peaceful silence returns along with a few birds chirping. Its rare moments like this when things are tranquil that I allow my mind to wander. To pretend just for a second that the world hasn't gone to hell and everything is fine. That we're just on a camping trip and at any moment we'd come back to our camp site. Where everyone we love would be waiting for us with open arms.

"Hey Arcade?" his little voice asks breaking my train of thoughts.

"What is it, little man?"

"Do you think they're happy up there?" I crash back to reality hard.

"Of course they're happy Rock." I pat his leg as I hear a little huff come from him.

"Even without us." he mumbles. I try to ignore the misery. No one is waiting for us because we're alone and it's been that way for a long time. Our parents were murdered after the Turn. Murdered by the people who attacked our camp, the same people we've been on the run from. It still troubles Rocket, everything that happened. He tends to wonder how they are up in heaven.

"They're happy because they can watch over us, I'm sure they miss us as much as we miss them. But they're happy most of all because we're alive and we have each other. They're happy because we're still here."

He stays silent as we keep moving, coming to a clearing from the trees and onto a long road. A few more moments pass before I hear soft sniffling coming from above me. I abruptly stop reaching up to remove the small boy from my shoulders. The map falls to the ground as I cradle him to my chest and he cries. Strangled sobs escape his lips as he holds onto me for dear life. I allow him to cry, gently stroking his brown hair until he finally calms down. Slowly I put him down, I kneel down as well so we're at eye level. He wipes his eyes, little hiccups coming from his mouth.

"Hey" I softly say and his light brown eyes come up to meet my dark ones.

"It's okay, we'll see them again someday and they will be so excited and so proud of us. But for now we have to keep going because it's what they would want. You still got me Rock. I won't let anything happen to you, I won't ever let them take us back. I'm always going to be here for you no matter what happens." I smile at him as I wipe the away the remainder of tears on his cheeks.

"You promise?" he asks, his voice is so small and he looks at me with such hope that my chest hurts. I nod my head. "I promise."

A smile cracks across his face, removing any sort of sadness, my smile widens as I stand back up. I smell them before I hear them. You'd think being around that smell for two years that I would become numb to it. But no the smell of decaying flesh is something I'll never get used to.

Two of them stumble out of the woods across the road from us, two more following after them. The growls are low as they blindly trip over themselves. But of course they spot us a little ways up the road and their groans get louder in the presence of fresh meat.

I act quickly picking Rocket up and rushing over to the nearest tree. There's a branch low enough for him to reach but is high enough away from any lurking bitters. I hoist him up and he grabs onto the branch and lift's himself up by hooking his right leg around it then swinging the rest of his body up so his back rest against the trunk. I take my backpack off and hand it to him, no words need to be exchanged because of the countless times that we've done this. But he still gives me that worried look and I give him a reassuring smile before I head back to the road.

The bitters have made it halfway to where we were, reaching out to try to grab onto their next meal. I unclip the holster on my right thigh and take out the 1911 Colt, checking the magazine. Only three bullets, I let out an annoyed huff, putting it back deciding to save them as a last resort. I reach behind me and unsheathe the hunting knife that I keep strapped to my belt.

The first one is a women, or what used to be a women. Her stringy blonde hair has become patchy, making part of her skull visible. The once white night gown is drenched in blood and grim. She nears me, snapping her rotting teeth. I extend my left arm grabbing onto her disgusting hair and sink the knife into her eye. She goes limp instantly and I pull out the weapon with a gross squelch sound. I let go and her body drops to the floor.

After her is a large man whose stomach had been cut open with his now black looking guts spilling out almost dragging on the ground. I lift my leg and kick at his left shin. The sickening snap follows and he topples foreword. Putting my right foot on his hand I plunge the knife into the back of his head and his growls die. The two others follow after him and I take them out quickly.

I lean over with my hands on my knees, taking a second to catch my breath and stop the black spots that are beginning to invade my vision. When I'm sure that I'm not going to pass out I bend down retrieving my knife out of the last bitters skull. Turning around I start back to where Rocket is hiding, wiping the dark blood onto my already dirty jeans. Just as I'm about to call out to him I hear a loud rumbling.

I turn around spotting a large grey truck and what looks to be a motorcycle making its way down the road right to me. I put my knife back and take out my gun instead.

"Stay where you are." I say loud enough for Rocket to hear. The vehicles come to a halt about a few yards in front of me.

I raise my gun and the man on the motorcycle acts quickly, in one graceful movement he unmounts from his ride and takes off the crossbow that was strapped to his back pointing it at me. I glare at him and his green eyes glare right back at me. Before I can tell him to put his weapon the hell down, the doors to the truck open and out steps two people. A woman who looks to be only in her 20's with short brown hair and emerald green eyes and along with a man who seems to be around her age, sprouting hair as black as mine and dark eyes.

I look at them then back at the crossbow guy, this isn't good. If they start something I'm fucked.

_You know your, shoot first ask questions later, strategy has never worked for us in the past. Maybe aiming a gun at strangers isn't the best way to introduce yourself. _

I frown at the voice, my conscience over the years had turned into an unfriendly one.

_And whose fault is that?_

I ignore it like usual but during my internal turmoil I didn't even notice the man and women had taken a few steps towards me making the grip on my gun tighten and causing them to stop.

"It's alright," the women say's cautiously, "we're not gonna hurt you." her southern accent is very noticeable. I glower at her tone, it's like she's talking to a feral animal.

"You know I would believe that if Rambo over there didn't have that pointed at my head." my eyes slide back over to the man.

"Best lower your gun then." his voice is gruff and even more southern than the woman's.

"Best lower your fucking weapon before I shoot it out of your hands." I hiss back my glare hardening causing his too as well. I'm ready to start shooting if I have to when suddenly the other man steps in.

"Daryl put it down, she's just a kid." The man's heating gaze shifts to the dark haired one and it's like they're having a conversation with their eyes because after a few moments 'Daryl' finally lowers his crossbow.

_This is the part where you put yours down too. You don't have enough bullets Vance and you're not in shape to fight either. Don't be stupid and put it away before you do something you regret. _

Begrudgingly I holster my weapon, if these people didn't want to fight then what did they want from me. I wipe a bead of sweat off my forehead, I feel hot. The ache in my arm has come back and all I want to do is scratch at the wound. The other man sighs turning back to me a small smile on his face.

"Hey my name is Glenn and this Maggie," he says gesturing to the women. "What's your name?" I stare at him for a few moments trying to figure him out.

He didn't look like he could be dangerous or that he could be working for _him_ but then again looks are deceiving. However his smile was genuine and nothing about him screamed murder. But overall these people didn't seem as though they were going to kidnap us and feed us to bitters, well maybe the Daryl guy but then again he was just being careful. However I still wasn't going to let my guard down, first sign of something not being okay and it's done. I look Glenn in the eye as I straighten out my stance.

"Arcadia" I reply curtly. He nods then looks down at the pile of dead bitters.

"Is it just you out here?" Glenn asks, I hesitate but nod my head.

"You're lyin." Hisses Daryl, bringing his crossbow back up. I snap my gaze to him, glaring again. Before I can defend myself I hear a yell.

"No!" then suddenly there's a little body in front of me. Rocket stands there with his arms stretched out trying to shield me. The others startle, staring at him and Daryl lowers his crossbow.

"Please don't hurt her!" He begs. I grab his arm and throw him behind me.

"I told you stay put." I scold looking over my shoulder at him. He looks up at me with big brown watering eyes.

"But they were gonna hurt you." He explains grabbing onto my right leg. I turn back to the strangers, none of them have made a move yet.

"Look if you're going to hurt anyone let it be me. Just let him go." I say surrendering because I'm beginning to see there's no way out of this without Rocket getting hurt and there was no way in hell that I would let that happen.

"Woah we're not hurting anyone." Glenn clarifies putting his hands out. "We have a camp, it has food, shelter and protection. You two can come back with us." I hold his gaze for a few moments.

"How many do you got at this camp of yours?" I inquire.

"About 40." My eyes widen a bit, 40 survivors!? With that many people the place must be strong and have a system to keep it going. It must have walls that keeps it safe. For a second the flicker of hope ignites in my chest. Maybe it could be different this time, maybe we could actually stay there. Maybe…

_You think walls will keep you safe? You do know that no matter what they'll find you. They will slaughter all and any people who shelter you. And that's 40 people whose blood will be on your hands. Again it'll be your fault. Is that really what you want? _

I swallow the lump in my throat as the hope dies out, I shake my head. Declining the offer like so many times before.

"No, we're doing fine on our own." A slight disappoint comes across Glenn and Maggie's face. Knowing that they're no longer a threat, I turn around and take the backpack off Rockets shoulder and swing it over mine. Then I grab his hand and start down the road. Not looking back because I know if I do I'll take the offer. I spot the map a few feet away and lean down to pick it up but that very moment the black spots comes back and this time there's no escaping it.

I don't know I'm on the ground until I'm staring at the blue sky. My arm aches so badly all I want to do is tear it off. Someone's shouting and my skin feels like it's on fire. The black dots begin to dance in my vision making the blue sky dimmer and dimmer until it looks like the night sky.

* * *

><p>Hello there! Yes this story is still alive and yes so am I. As of late I have decided to rewrite it. I know now exactly how I want this story to go and I've actually planned it out instead of just going in blind.<p>

So I have written the first few chapters which I will publish weekly and hopefully stick to it. But I do want to finish this story because I have so many great ideas that I want to share with you all. Plus you guys, that season premiere messed me up. Everything went south so fast!

But please stick around this story will get better I promise. See you guys next week!


	2. 1 (Part 1)

Pain. Everything in my body is giving off a sharp throb that seems to emanate from my left arm. I swallow and my throat feels like sandpaper I shift my body and feel the sweat that's collected on my back, which is practically drenched.

Slowly I open my eyes expecting to see the Georgian sky but what welcomes me is the top of a bunk bed. The mattress that's on top of it is dirty with too many stains to count. My vision is blurry and keeps going in and out of focus. I turn my head to the right and see cement wall and a dim light hanging above a mirror. The light blinds me and I move my right hand to shield my eyes but something clangs and I can't move my arm. I shift my gaze to whatever is preventing me from having full function of my limb. A silver glint catches my eye. Handcuffs.

My mind feels groggy taking me a lot longer than it should to piece together what's going on. But then like a switch has been flipped everything comes flooding back and the panic sets in. My eyes flutter around the foreign room only seeing walls and metal bars. The fear only worsens when I notice the lack of another presence in the cell, Rockets not here.

_Way to go Vance, you pass out and you get yourself locked up in a cell. And now your brother is missing. Bravo. _

I go to sit up, ignoring the flare of pain my arm gives off and the spinning in my head. My vision swims for a few moments when I'm sitting up and I'm trying with all my strength not to vomit. When I finally get my bearings I look down at my arms. My left one has a white bandage wrapped around it, the once very noticeable red veins have dimmed in color. The other one is cuffed to the metal pole of the bunk bed with an IV sticking out of it. I rip it out quickly.

I reach behind me for my knife but come up empty and then I notice that my holster is missing too. Fuck. Then I hear the voices, they're faint and sound a bit far away. I try to strain my ears to hear them but I only get broken bits.

"…been 24… her fever …down and…arm…"

"So it…atch then?"

"…that way."

The conversation fades out after that, too low for me to decipher. I look out the cell bars and see a big window letting in the setting sun. The fear grows. Lifting my left leg, rest it on the mattress and reach down into my boot, wincing when the side of the shoe squeezes against my wound. When my fingers make contact with a hard object I curl my hand around it and pull it out. A bit of relief comes over me when I see the pocketknife, I flick the blade out and get to work on getting the handcuffs unlocked.

**THIRD PERSON, 24 HOURS EARLIER **

Gabe Haywood had been put on fence duty for the fifth time that week. And as much as he didn't mind being covered in brain matter and walker blood. He did mind having to stand in the baking sun wearing thick gloves and a heavy apron. The tan lines that it created was ridiculous. Though saying tan lines was a bit of an understatement considering he didn't really tan but more like burn. His pale skin became ablaze under the unforgiving sun, which annoyed him beyond belief.

But the council had called for as many hands that were available to help out at the fence. The herd had built up again, almost as bad as last month. The quality of the fence was at constant question as to whether it would hold or break under the sheer weight of the undead. Not to mention the smell was not pleasant, Gabe would love nothing more than to be able to enjoy his breakfast without the smell of decomposed flesh entering his nostrils.

But he knew that he should be grateful that all he had to complain about was a smell and some tan lines. The heavy hand on his shoulder pulled him out of his thoughts.

"I'm here to relieve you." The gruff voice announced from behind him over the groaning chorus of the dead.

Gabe turned around to see Tyreese standing there, he smiled at him. The boy had gotten to know Tyreese over his many weeks on fence duty. Though the man was intimidatingly tall and broad, he was actually a very kind individual who was easy to converse with. Not to mention Gabe had been observing him since he started the chore, it was obvious that Tyreese's sudden interest in the activity was brought on by a certain brunette. Even though Gabe sometimes felt guilty watching the two dance around their feelings for each other, in his defense it was his only source of entertainment.

He handed over the slightly bent metal rod, followed by the gloves and apron. He gave a departing remake to Tyreese and told him to give his regards to Carine followed with a laugh when the older slapped him lightly on the arm with the glove.

Gabe made his way over to the tub of water they kept by the side of the fence to wash off any blood that the gloves didn't catch. He scrubbed down his forearms and some of his blonde hair that had been exposed to the rotten blood. Usually he'd just wipe it off but lately his mother had been badgering him about it and he didn't really feel like fighting with her today. He was drying off his hands onto his jeans when he heard the loud rumble of the motorcycle that could only belong to one person. Gabe jogged up the path into the court yard just in time to see the gates open and in come the big gray truck and motorcycle. The vehicles were parked a few yards from the opening of the court yard.

He watched as Glenn quickly climbed out of the car and shouted for someone to get Dr. S, this caught the attention of a few others as they made their way over to the cars to see what could invoke the need for medical attention. Gabe walked over to the bed of the truck, moving out of the way when Daryl ran past him. Maggie and Glenn were both knelt down looking at something and quietly conversing with each other.

The teenager didn't see him at first not until his big brown eyes seemed to lock onto Gabe and not waver one bit, it was unsettling to say the least. He looked at this little boy whose hair was a dark wild mess and face dirty and tear streaked. It was obvious that he had been crying but he had since stopped and had taken to trying to make himself as small as possible. His little body seemed to be huddled around something that he was gripping in his tiny hands. Gabe took a step forward to get a better look as to what the kid was holding, for a split second complete fear watched over him when he noticed the object was a human appendage. But relief came when he saw that it belonged to a person and it wasn't just some severed hand. The boy hadn't taken too kindly to the new presence and let out what Gabe could only describe as a mixed growl and whimper. He would have probably laughed if the kid hadn't looked so freaked out.

The sound of footsteps coming down the hill snapped him out of his stare off with the boy. Dr. S followed by some of the council members and Rick Grimes all came down to see what the commotion was. Gabe moved out of their way.

"What's goin' on?" Asked the oldest Grimes as he came to a halt on the side of the truck. Dr. S climbed into the back kneeling over his new patient while Glenn climbed out.

"We were coming back from our run when we ran into these two, she collapsed in the middle of the road." He explained.

"This wound is badly infected, if we don't treat it soon she could lose her arm. Is this a cut or a…" The doctor trailed off.

"It's deep, it could only be from a knife." Maggie argued, the look of uncertainty crossed everyone's face.

"How sure are you?" Asked Sasha as she crossed her arms.

"Sure enough to bring her all the way back here."

"We'll still use handcuffs as a precaution." Carol said, Glenn gave a look of protest.

"We don't know who she is, she could be dangerous. Did you ask her the questions?" She inquired.

"She passed out before we got the chance." Answered Daryl. A silent agreement was made that handcuffs and surveillance would defiantly be used.

"Alright well we better move her and treat this before it gets any worse, I'm surprised she even lasted this long." Dr. S noted.

"Is she going to die?" The voice was small and seemed to startle almost everyone. The little boy had succeeded in making himself smaller and almost invisible. He's dark eyes seemed to bounce off of everyone but there was an odd intensity in them that didn't seem to belong in a child's stare.

"No, they're going to help her, your sister is going to be fine." Glenn said trying to reassure the kid that his sibling wasn't going to kick the bucket. But he didn't really seem to believe him so he went back to silently observing everyone.

They removed the girl from the truck and headed inside the prison. Gabe stayed behind to help Carol coax the boy out. It took a lot of convincing and promises before he came climbing out of the bed, a big backpack hung on his tiny shoulders as he took in his surroundings for the first time. The promise of food had been woven into their odd deal and so the three of them made their way into the court yard and Gabe sat across from the boy as Carol went to go fix him a plate. The kid didn't say a word just continued his silent watching, he looked scared and on high alert.

Carol came back a few minutes later handing him a plate of vegetables and the leftover meat from breakfast. The little boy's eyes grew wide at the presence of the meal and without any hesitation he began to devour his food in an almost savage like manner. Gabe watched in amazement as in less than three minutes all the food on the plate was gone. It was obvious from his small frame that the kid was a little underweight. Which only made Gabe wonder more how long those two were out there and how they survived this long. Carol tried to talk to him, but he'd only give nods or head shakes or complete silence. The only time that he actually talked was when Gabe asked him what his name was.

"Rocket." His barley above a whisper voice answered, but his eye contact made up for his weak voice as that intense look was back again. The older boy gave a grin as he held out his hand to him.

"Nice to meet you Rocket, I'm Gabe and this is Carol." Rocket looked down at the extended hand as if it was going to bite him, but he could practically hear his mother's voice in the back of his head telling him not to be rude. Hesitantly he lifted his small hand to meet the older boys. It was like shaking hands with a jellyfish Gabe noted to himself but at least he wasn't growling at him anymore.

Carol excused herself shortly after that saying she was going to go check on the girl, leaving Gabe to look after their new guest. He let out an uncomfortable cough. It wasn't that Gabe didn't like children, he just had very few experience with them. Sure he occasionally played a game with the younger kids but most of them were no younger than nine. Once he had even been at the wrong place at the wrong time and had to look after Judith when Beth needed to go grab something. She was only gone for probably three minutes but it was the most terrifying three minutes of his life. The kid across from him looked as though he couldn't have been more than six.

"Do you like books?" Gabe asked, immediately regretting how stupid the question sounded. Rocket turned to look at him from where his eyes had been trained on the pig pens out in the field. He nodded, still not talking unless absolutely necessary. Gabe stood and Rocket followed him as they made their way to the library.

They spent the remaining hours of daylight in the library, Gabe reading books out loud as Rocket sat on the floor intently listening. He could have sworn at one practically humorous part of 'Holes' that the kids mouth almost twitched into a smile but it was gone as quick as it had come.

By the time they finished the book it was dinner time and Gabe thought after his meal that afternoon that maybe the child wouldn't have been that hungry. But he was wrong as he sat across from him again to witness him devour the meal in the same barbaric manner as he had earlier that day. The other people around them gave disapproving looks and shook their heads as they went back to their own meals.

Gabe couldn't help but feel bad for the kid, the way he ate was the way a starved dog ate food. Vicious and focused, like he wasn't sure if it was going to be his last or not.

Sometime during their book marathon Rocket had taken off his sweatshirt to reveal a black shirt with a sort of cartoonish sun on it. And Gabe hadn't noticed it until now but the kid had these odd scars on his arms. They were like small dots that seemed to be most notable on the insides of his arm. If he didn't know any better, they looked an awful lot like track marks. Which made no sense for a kid his age to even have. But before he had time to dwell on it any longer someone was calling his name. He looked up to see Carol waving him over to the end of the table where she stood with Dr. S and Hershel.

"Stay here, I'll be back." He said to Rocket hoping he heard him considering his face was practically pressed up against his plate. He jogged over to the others who formed a small circle.

"How's the boy?" Hershel asked in that heavy accent of his.

"Uh fine, just sort of hungry and disturbingly quiet." They all looked back at Rocket who was just finishing his food. Gabe turned back looking at the 3 most medically skilled people at the prison.

"How's his sister?" He asked.

"Well, she has a fever. Could be from the infection of the wound or… something else. But she's stable for now, having her stay in block D." Answered Dr. S

"We're going to take shifts watching her in case something happens." Carol explained.

"When can he see her?"

"Not until we hit the 24-hour mark and know for sure that she isn't infected. We're giving her antibiotics from an IV drip, if it is just a knife wound then she should wake up soon." Gabe let out a heavy sigh at the news.

"You guys are telling me all this because I've got to tell the kid, right?" Carol gave him a pat on the shoulder while Hershel gave him one of those sweet grandfatherly smiles and Dr. S just walked away. Heavying another sigh Gabe turned around and went back to the table to give Rocket the not so great news.

He half expected him to cry or shout or demand to see his sister that moment. But he just nodded that sort of solemn nod like he understood too well. Like this wasn't his first time having to go through something like this.

"I'm sorry." It seemed like the right thing to say at the moment, plus it wasn't a lie. He did feel sorry the poor kid had to go through this alone.

"It isn't a scratch. She will wake up." Rockets voice wasn't just a whisper like it had been when he last spoke. This time it didn't waver, it held the same fierce look that his eyes did. Gabe nodded, some part of him believing him.

Maggie came to collect the boy a few minutes later to show him where he'd be sleeping, thanking Gabe for watching over him.

So without needing to be anywhere else Gabe resided back to his cell that he shared with his mother. His mother smiled up at her only son's arrival. Ms. Haywood was a small woman that barely came to her son's shoulder which really did make her short considering Gabe was only 5"6. It was clear to see where he got his bright blonde hair from and inability to tan properly. But the only characteristic he didn't share with his mother was the eyes. Hers were a milky brown while his were a startling green. The only thing he got from his father, a man to whom died before Gabe was born. A fact that he's slightly glad for now.

He returned her smile and then climbed to the top of the bunk bed, exhaustion from the day's events finally catching up to him. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The next day went by quickly, luckily Gabe didn't have fence duty so he spent his morning helping his mother with laundry. And his afternoon he helped Mr. Harrell fix one of the cars that the Run team had found. Before the turn Gabe had a keen interest in becoming an auto mechanic, the structure of automobiles and finding out how they worked caught his attention. So he knew his way around a car pretty easily.

The sun was setting when he finally got back to D block, his grey tank top covered in grease and sweat. He walked pasted Sasha and Dr. S who quietly talking to each other to get to his cell. He didn't mean to eavesdrop it's just his curiosity was peaked when he heard them mention the girl.

"It's been 24 hours since she came, her fever is down and her arm looks immensely better."

"So it wasn't a scratch then?" Sasha inquired.

"It seems that way."

"Then why hasn't she woken up yet?"

"The girls in pretty bad shape; you saw her body. That's severe malnutrition right there, she's had to have been out there for a long while to get like this. Which leads me to believe that those two were alone out there." Dr. S states, Sasha lets out a long sigh.

"They're just kids." She mumbles.

_**How long had they been out there?**_ Gabe wondered to himself, he'd been out there 2 months after the Turn until he and his mother found Woodbury. But any longer than that, what being out there does to a person. He remembered the marks on Rockets arms and how out of place they looked on a kid. Gabe turned around to tell Dr. S as to what he had seen but the sudden glint of metal stopped him dead in his tracks. Because the metal had startled him and because the metal was pointed at him.

The knife was small but it was still a sharp blade being pressed against his Adams apple. But what scared him more was the person who was holding the knife. He could tell now how much those two were related. Their eyes had that same unsettling intensity in them, but hers were darker and more dangerous.

_**She's done this before, she's killed before. **_The only coherent thought that his terrified mind let him process.

"Where is my brother." It wasn't a question even though it was phrased like one. Her voice was low and rough but it had this simmering rage behind it. Gabe didn't know if he had made a noise or if one of the other two people there had just turned around but there was a shout and then a gun being cocked.

She was quicker though, with has much grace as someone who just woke up from almost dying from an infection the girl grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. His back was against her chest and the knife was digging deeper into his neck. Other's had showed up, probably hearing the commotion. They had their guns trained on her.

"Let him go!" Shouted Sasha, but the girls grip only tightened. Gabe could see Rick, Michonne and Daryl burst into the cell block.

"Give me back my brother!" She shouted right back. "Give him to me and I'll let him go."

_**I'm going to die. Fuck.**_

* * *

><p>Holy shit I did not expect this story to get this much attention. But thank you so much to all of you who have followed or favourited and left reviews. You guys are so amazing!<p>

So I decided to break up this chapter into two parts, that's why it's sort of on this cliffhanger. I apologize for that, but more suspense right? (: Plus some blue eyed wonder will finally be making his appearance, yay!

See you guys next week!


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